The Failed Protector
by MichiganWolverine
Summary: The Sealed Sword, protected by the Hideki clan for generations upon generations. When the latest protector, Hideki Toshiro fails, he must retrieve the sword from a mysterious enigma that has taken it away. Can he defeat his own doubt's, and take back th


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, form, or fashion. I do, however, own all of the original characters mentioned in this fanfic (or have borrowed them from my friends with permission).

A soft rain beat down against the rooftop of a small shrine-like building just inside the walls of Konoha. The moon shone down, illuminating the unconscious bodies of several shinobi near the top of the stone stairs which led up to the structure. A dark hooded figure loomed inside, a small smirk on his face. The man slowly walked forward, towards what appeared to be a sheathed sword set on a stand. Two large wooden poles, one on each side of the sword, held candles which lit the room with their small flames. The unknown figure crept closer and closer to the sword. With each step his expression grew more and more menacing. "Finally," he said victoriously, "I may wield it, the Sealed Sword of the Hideki clan!" But as his hand reached to grab the hilt of the blade, a kunai whizzed through the air. It's target, the back of the mysterious man's head. With great speed it traveled and in an instant it seemed as though it would meet its mark. However, just as it seemed the knife would pierce through the skull of the seemed intruder he moved his head effortlessly to the right, and the kunai harmlessly hit the wall.

The cloaked figure turned to view his attacker only to see that it was a young man of about 15 years. The boy had dark red hair that could be called a crimson color. A white headband wrapped around his short hair. He wore a black t-shirt with a small blue emblem shown on the top right side. His pants were the same black color and looked similar to a martial arts "gi". The moon reflected brightly off of the forehead protector, which held the symbol of Konoha, on his right arm. The crimson haired ninja looked toward the other ninja, with a serious stare. His right hand lay upon the hilt of his sword, which was sheathed on his left side. "I don't know who you are," the shinobi said, "but I'm not going to let you take that sword."

The strange man took a step back from the sword and began to laugh maniacally. As he continued his almost insane laughter he managed to blurt out, "You...you...think you can stop me?" Finally managing to control his cackle he suddenly became solemn as well. "So who are you that you think that you can challenge me?" he said bluntly. Shifting toward a fighting stance, the Konoha ninja said boldly, "My name is Hideki Toshiro." He then drew his blade from its sheath and added, "And it would be wise of you not to underestimate the strength of the Hideki clan."

The light glow of the candle stands were the only illumination of the room as the two fighters stared at one another. Finally, the cloaked figure backed up in the direction of the "Sealed Sword", but as his hand reached back to grab it a small chakra barrier met his hand. As his fingertips touched this new obstacle a grimace formed on the intruders face. Turning his head, ever so slightly, he took a closer look at the nearby candle stand. The mysterious ninja cursed under his breath as he saw the sealing symbols engraved into the wood of the stand.

"Well," he said in an almost annoyed tone, "It appears as if it will require more effort than I thought to take the sword." But as he had taken the time to examine the stands, Toshiro had already taken the opportunity to launch his attack. He ran with great speed toward the intruder, katana in hand. "Before you can worry about the barrier you must first defeat me!" the Hideki cried as he took his blade and made several slashes at the unknown shinobi. The cloaked ninja dodged the teen's strikes with little difficulty, an unsurprised look on his face. Moving from side to side he evaded every strike the Konoha ninja could throw at him. As the strikes kept coming the intruder showed little effort in eluding them.

Then, suddenly, the unknown ninja lifted his hand to block the blade. As the sword met his hand, it was stopped mid strike. Toshiro's face hardened as he saw what was blocking his weapon. It wasn't the hand itself, but a dark, black crystal located in the palm of his enemy's hand. In the blink of an eye the intruder was within arms length of the Hideki, his hand now wrapped around the shinobi's sword.

"What was that about the strength of the Hideki clan? Well, if this is your clan's strength it's only fair I show you mine." the cloaked ninja said arrogantly as his other hand reached for the teen's head. Toshiro could feel the crystal on the hand of the intruder jam onto his forehead. "Here it is, behold the power of Kazumaru! Chakra Kouseki Gikou: Kuro Seishin Houi Jutsu (Chakra Crystal Technique: Dark Mind Envelopment Jutsu) !" the cloaked ninja, "Kazumaru", shouted.

A deep, black lightning bolt shot out from his right hand, the one with which he held the head of the Hideki. Toshiro's brown eyes suddenly froze. His pupils fading into white as he grimaced from the pain. The world around him seemed to spin as the Genjutsu began to take effect. The crimsoned haired shinobi's grip on his katana loosened as he started to lose control of his movement. The cloaked figure's visage shown with a smile that was wide and full of malicious intent.

But just as it seemed that the ninja called "Kazumaru" had achieved victory, as small trickle of a dark red liquid began to crawl down the chin of the Hideki. Suddenly life returned to the teen's eyes and an even more determined look on his face. Tightening the grip on his blade Toshiro pushed away from his adversary and resumed his fighting stance.

"Ah," Kazumaru said wickedly, "So you're not as stupid as you look." Then narrowed his eyes and added, "But I'm sorry to say that I don't have time to play with you now." As he finished with what he was saying he began to perform a series of handseals.

"If you think that you will be able to trap me in he same technique as earlier than you're sorely mistaken!" the younger shinobi exlamed as he charged toward Kazumaru. But his opponent was to busy with his seals to be bothered with this insignificant ninja. Toshiro began to close in on his target, his katana ready to slice into the flesh of the intruder. Finally, the wicked looking ninja finished his seals, and once again dark bolts of lightning emanated from his right hand.

When the ninja of Konoha saw the jutsu of his opponent about to become active, he knew that he had to strike quickly or risk taking a serious hit. But just as the Hideki swung his sword to dispatch his enemy, his adversary launched his assault. Thrusting his hand forward, just inches away from Toshiro's shoulder, a strong beam of pitch black lightning hurtled forward, directly hitting the other shinobi. As the attack met its mark Kazumaru shouted maliciously, "Chakra Kouseki Gikou: Kuro Raikou Jutsu!" (Chakra Crystal Technique: Dark Lightning Jutsu). Shouting in pain from the lightning which had shot straight through his shoulder, the ninja fell to the ground, blood darkening his shirt. Gripping the wound with his hand, the pain began to overtake him, and the world began to fade away.

Before he completely lost consciousness he heard the words of his adversary. "Now I will take the Sealed Sword and unlock its power. Now I can have Konoha and the entire world trembling at my feet. And all will fear the wrath of Kazumaru!!!"

Author's Note - Thanks to 'Blink' my Beta-reader. Reviews are appreciated, but please don't flame.


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